JPH06321416A - Sheet after-treatment device provided with sheet bundle transferring means - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable stable sheets bundle transfer by forming the sheet contact part of the second sheet transfer means so that sliding resistance in a direction roughly orthogonal to the sheet descharging direction may become smaller than that in the roughly vertical direction. CONSTITUTION:The sheet contact part 22a of a reference rod 22 which serves as the second transfer means is formed so as to satisfy mu1<mu2, where mu1 is a sliding resistance in the direction roughly orthogonal to the sheet discharging direction, and mu2 is a sliding resistance in the roughly vertical direction. It is thus possible to support the rear end of a sheets bundle completely onto the knurling part of the sheet contact part 22a at the time of transferring the sheets bundle, and provide stable sheets bundle transfer without generating buckling, breakage, damage and the like even in paper whose lower part is curled and weak-kneed paper such as thin paper.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing apparatus having sheet bundle transfer means, and more specifically, a copy discharged from an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a printing machine or a laser beam printer after the image formation. The present invention relates to a sheet post-processing device having a post-processing function after sequentially classifying and storing sheet members such as paper sheets in a tray (hereinafter referred to as "bin tray").

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a sheet post-processing apparatus (hereinafter referred to as a "sorting apparatus") installed on the discharge side of an image forming apparatus has a limit on the number of bin trays. It was impossible to sort and store. The following are examples devised to solve this problem.

Sheets once stored in the bin tray are stacked on a stack tray different from the bin tray via the conveying means, and the bin tray is emptied to be newly discharged from the image forming apparatus. It is possible to sort and store sheets. By repeating the transfer from the bin tray to the stock tray, the number of sheets exceeding the number of bin trays is stacked.

In a combination of a finisher having a bin tray movable vertically and vertically with respect to the sheet conveying direction and an automatic document feeder capable of automatically circulating documents, the bin tray position is set for each document-circulation (one copy). By moving (shifting) in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance and providing a step on the front and rear sheet bundles, a large number of sheets are sorted and stacked on one bin tray.

[0005]

However, in the prior art, as shown in FIG. 15, a curled sheet bundle on the bin tray b or a weak sheet bundle such as thin paper is tilted by the sheet bundle transfer means 22. When pushing up along the sheet bundle, the frictional force μ that pushes up the sheet bundle, which is generated at the contact portion between the sheet bundle and the sheet bundle transfer means, has a small contact angle between the sheet bundle and the sheet bundle transfer means 22. for,
Will decrease. When the frictional force becomes smaller than the sliding resistance of the sheet bundle and the transfer direction of the bin, the rear end of the sheet bundle is
The sheet bundle transfer means slides downward at the contact portion. Therefore, the sheet bundle protrudes from the notch portion b _{1 of the} bin to the back surface side and is sandwiched between the sheet bundle transfer means and the bin, and the sheet bundle cannot be taken out or is damaged.
Breakage will occur.

Further, in order to prevent slippage, if the friction coefficient of the contact portion of the sheet bundle transfer means is increased, the sheet bundle is pushed up by the sheet bundle transfer means and then moved to the front side by another sheet bundle transfer means. When pushing out the sheet bundle, the sliding resistance of the sheet abutting part is high, so the end surface of the sheet bundle may be damaged,
In addition, since a high-torque drive motor must be used, there are problems such as high cost.

[0007]

According to the present invention, at least one or more bins for accommodating sheets ejected from the image forming apparatus main body and a sheet for moving the sheets in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction in which the sheets are ejected are provided. 1 sheet transfer means, and the first
Which is disposed on the side to be transferred by the sheet transfer means of
For transporting a sheet in a direction substantially orthogonal to the sheet transporting means of the second
In the sheet post-processing apparatus equipped with the sheet transfer means and the control means for controlling each operation, the sliding resistance in the direction substantially orthogonal to the sheet discharging direction is set to μ _1, and the sliding resistance in the substantially vertical direction is set. Is defined as μ ₂ , the sheet contact portion of the second sheet transfer means is formed so that μ ₁ <μ _2, and the sheet contact portion of the second sheet transfer means is characterized by The present invention is characterized in that it is formed into a knurled shape and that the sheet contact portion of the second transfer means is formed into a ratchet shape.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problems will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall view of the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the image forming apparatus 2
An automatic document feeder 300 that automatically circulates originals is installed on the upper surface of 00, and a sorting device 1 having ₂₀ bin trays b (b ₁ , b _2, ... B ₁₉ , b ₂₀ ) is provided downstream.
00 is attached.

The image forming apparatus 200 uses a well-known electrophotographic method, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted here.
An original document positioned on the platen glass 208 is imaged on the photosensitive drum 201 by an optical system (not shown), and the developing device 202 and the transfer electrode 2 provided around the photosensitive drum 201 are formed.
03, the image is transferred to the sheet and is permanently fixed by the fixing device 205.

The sorting apparatus 100 is a so-called bin moving type sorter, in which vertically stacked bin trays b are raised or lowered one by one by one rotation of the spiral cams 4 provided on both sides.

A sheet on which an image has been formed by the image forming apparatus 200 passes through a pair of paper discharge rollers 206 and then the sorting apparatus 100.
To the sorting path 6a and the non-sorting path 6b by the flapper 1 (see FIG. 2). In the non-sorting mode where the sheets are not sorted, all the sheets pass through the non-sorting path 6b (the flapper 1 is in the chain line position) and are discharged to the non-sorting tray 10. In the sorting mode for sorting the sheets, the sheets pass the sorting path 6a ( The flapper 1 is in the solid line position), and the sheets discharged by the discharge rollers are collected by the bin trays that move up and down in synchronization.

Reference numeral 7 (broken line portion) is an electric stapler for binding sheets with staples and is attached at a predetermined position facing the bin tray b. As shown in FIG. 3, which is a top view of the sorting apparatus, the stapler 7 advances to a position (a solid line position) 7a that stands by outside the area of the bin tray b and a notch portion A provided at a corner of the bin tray b. Then, the position 7b (chain line position) where the staple binding operation of the sheets is performed is moved by a drive system (not shown).

As shown in detail in FIG. 4, the bin unit 8 holding the bin tray b is formed in a box shape in which guide side plates 61 are provided on both sides from the non-sort tray 10 to the base frame 9. The bin tray b is arranged such that the pins (trunnions) 3 fixed to both sides are inserted into the holes 61a of the guide side plate 61 and the upstream side in the discharging direction is inclined downward. A support plate 11 is attached to the inner side of the base end of the base frame 9. On the support plate 11, an upper end is fixed to the upper arm 12 and a lower end is fixed to the lower arm 13. The central shaft 14 is the support plate 1
1 is rotatably supported by a rotary shaft (not shown) provided on the No. 1 and a rotary shaft 15 provided on the lower surface of the non-sort tray 10. Further, a fan gear 16 is arranged on the support plate 11 so as to be rotatable around a rotation shaft provided on the support plate 11, and the fan gear 16 has the lower arm 1 attached thereto.
3 is fixed. Further, a pulse motor 17 is arranged below the support plate 11, and a gear 18 fixed to the output shaft of the pulse motor 17 meshes with the fan-shaped gear 16. Then, the tip of the lower arm 13 and the upper arm 1
An aligning rod 19 is installed at the tip of 2 through the notch B formed in each bin tray b, and the aligning rod 19 is configured to swing by the rotation of the sector gear 16. ing. Further, the lower arm 13 is provided with a light shielding plate 20, and the light shielding plate 20 swings integrally with the lower arm 13 to turn on the home position sensor 21 arranged on the back side of the base frame 9. It is configured to turn off.

A reference rod 22 is installed at a position opposite to the alignment rod 19 so as to pass through a notch portion A formed in the bin tray b. In this embodiment, knurls are formed on the sheet bundle contact portion 22a of the reference rod 22. The reference rod 22 is fitted to a guide rail 23 that extends in the sheet discharge direction and is supported below the non-sort tray 10, and has a belt 24 stretched at one end in parallel with the guide rail 23.
It is fixed to. One of the belts 24 is hung on a pulley 26 of a pulse motor 25 fixed below the non-sort tray 10 and the other is hung on an idler pulley 27. As shown in FIG. The reference rod 22 can be moved to a position (home position) P ₁ retracted to the outside of the bin tray area (rear of the stopper b ′) and a position P ₂ that acts when aligning and pushing out the sheets. The position detection at P ₁ is performed by a sensor (not shown), and the position detection at P ₂ is performed by the pulse motor 2
By inputting a predetermined number of pulses to 5. Further, the guide rails 23 are mounted at positions P ₁ and P ₂
Should have a slight step difference K in the horizontal direction (position P
₍₁ is the front side) In a substantially diagonal direction and in the sheet discharge direction,
In order to improve the transmission efficiency when the reference rod 22 presses and moves the sheet on the bin tray b, the movement direction of the reference rod 22 is fixed so as to be substantially parallel to the inclination angle of the bin tray b (FIG. 2, FIG. (See FIG. 3).

A control circuit CPU is attached to the image forming apparatus 200 and the sorting apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 1 to control and communicate each operation.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be described below with reference to the flowchart (FIG. 12).

(Step 1) First, the operator places the document D on the document mounting table 3 of the automatic document feeder 200 shown in FIG.
Place on 03. Next, after inputting the number of copies n, staple mode (presence / absence), etc. on an operation panel (not shown) of the image forming apparatus, the start key is turned on.

(Step 2) Then, the number of originals D is controlled by the automatic original feeding device 200 by idling the originals, or by the operator inputting a numerical value if it is known in advance. The circuit is made to recognize the number of originals N ₁ .

(Step 3) Based on the set number n of copies, the control circuit determines the number N ₂ of copies to be accommodated in one bin. For example, since the number of bin trays in this embodiment is 20, {N ₂ = 1 when n = 0 to 20} {n = 21 to 4}
When 0, N ₂ = 2} {When n = 41 to 60, N ₂ = 3}
… Will be. The number of sheets that can be stored in one bin tray is N ₃ (experimentally obtained in advance and input to the control circuit).
Discriminate ₁ × N ₂ <N ₃ .

(Step 4) If the determination in (Step 3) is “No”, the number of sheets that can be stored in one bin tray exceeds the number that can be stored. Therefore, use some method (warning sound, display message, etc.). Tell it to the operator.

[0021] (Step5) discriminated at (Step3) is as shown in FIG. 5 if "Yes", the reference rod 22 which has been waiting at the home position alignment of the reference position to become position P ₂ f, the aligning rod 19 moves to positions 19a that match the size of the discharged sheet.

(Steps 6 and 7) When the above preparation is completed, the sheets discharged from the image forming apparatus 200 are sorted. Here, when the set number of copies n is larger than the number of bin trays (20), 20 sets are sorted first, and when the number of bins is 20 or less, n sets are sorted, and the automatic document feeder 300.
Is fed from the final page onto the platen glass 208 of the image forming apparatus 200 through the path 301 by separating the document bundle D downward (FIG. 1), and after the documents are stopped, an optical system (not shown) is activated to start image formation. To do. Transferring and fixing the already sheet is discharged through the sorting path 6a to the first sheet of the bin tray b ₁ (waiting at a position opposed to the discharge roller) (see FIG. 6). The sheets discharged to the bin tray b ₁ are
The stopper b'moves on the bin tray arranged to be inclined downwards by its own weight toward the stopper b '(two-dot chain line state).

Then, the pulse motor 17 that rotates based on the pulse signal corresponding to the sheet size is used to move
The aligning rod 19 located at a starts to move by a predetermined amount in the direction of the arrow, and after the sheet side end abuts to the first sheet position where the other side end abuts the reference rod 22 (19).
b). Then, the aligning rod 19 returns to 19a in preparation for the ejection of the next sheet.

The above is the flow of stacking one sheet on the bin tray. After that, by rotating the spiral cam 4, each bin tray is aligned with the position of the discharge roller pair, and the transfer sheet of the final page of the original is placed on the desired bin tray. The end is the reference rod 22,
The rear end is brought into contact with the stopper b ′ to be aligned.

When the transfer of the last page of the original is completed,
The original document on the platen glass 208 passes through the pulse 302 and is ejected to the uppermost surface of the original document stack D on the original document table 303.
However, a partition lever is interposed between the copied document and the uncopied document (not shown), and the two are distinguished.

The above operation is repeated for the number of originals to align and stack desired copy sheets. At this time, the automatic document feeder 300 completes the circulation of the document stack D, and the document stack D is returned to 1 again.
The page is on the top.

(Step 8) Here, the (Step
If the setting mode in p1) is stipple, the process proceeds to (Step 9), and if there is no stipple, the process proceeds to (Step 11).

(Steps 9 and 10) As shown in FIG. 6, the stapler 7 waiting at the home position 7a.
Receives an operation start signal from the control circuit CPU, moves to the stipple operation position 7b (position indicated by a broken line), and strikes the trailing edge corner of the sheet. At this time, the sheet is the reference rod 22 and the alignment rod 1
The side end is held by 9, and it is prevented by bundling at the time of needle driving. After finishing stapling, the stapler 7 returns to the home position 7a, and one turn of the spiral cam 4 moves the bin tray by one step to shift to staple binding of sheets on the next bin tray.

By repeating the above operation, the staple binding of all the sheet bundles is completed.

(Step 11) Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the reference bar 22 that was in contact with the side edge of the sheet at the alignment reference position P ₂ is moved to the home position P ₁ by the pulse motor 25. Since the movement trajectory of the reference rod 22 is in the direction (step K) away from the sheet bundle side end as described above, there is no bundle deviation due to the movement.

(Step 12) Subsequently, the matching rod 1
9 is driven by the pulse motor 17 to move from the alignment position 19b by a predetermined amount L ₁ (L ₁ > K) (19C). Along with the movement of the aligning rod 19, the sheet is pressed at its side end and pushed out L ₁ toward the front side along the stopper b ′ (second
Seat position).

(Step 13) The above (Step 1)
The reference rod 22 retracted to the position P ₁ in 1) returns to the position P ₂ while pushing up the rear end of the sheet. At this time, the rear end portion of the sheet is pushed up while being surely held by the knurled portion 22a formed on the reference rod 22, so that even a lower curled paper as shown in FIG. 13 or a weak paper such as thin paper buckles. It can be pushed up without fail. The rear end of the sheet is supported by the reference rod 22 and the stopper b ', and the side end thereof is supported by the aligning rod 19, and the position of the sheet is changed in an inclined manner on the bin tray as shown in FIG. 8 (third sheet position).

(Step 14) Further, in this state, as shown in FIG. 9, the alignment rod 19 is moved by a predetermined amount L _{2 in} the arrow direction (19d). Front cover 3 of the sorting apparatus 100
A space sufficient for the sheet to pass through is provided between 0 and 31, and the sheet-side end portion is completely pushed out of the machine by the movement of the alignment rod 19 L ₂ (fourth sheet position). . At this time, since the sliding resistance of the knurled portion 22a in the pushing direction is extremely small,
The pushing operation can be performed smoothly, and the sheet is not scratched or bent. Since the aligning rod 19 and the reference rod 22 are formed so as to penetrate all the bin trays, the sheets on all the bin trays are pushed out to the front side by avoiding the spiral cam 4, the stapler 7, the cover, etc. owned by the machine by the above operation. Be done.

(Step 15) Here, (Step
If the sorting of the set number of copies n in p1) is completed, the operation of the apparatus is terminated. On the other hand, when there are remaining copies to be sorted, the operations up to (Steps 5 to 14) are repeated. As described above, by adopting the above configuration, it is possible to perform stable sheet bundle transfer.

(Other Embodiment) A second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

This embodiment has the same effect as the previous embodiment, and also has the effect of improving the alignment of the rear end of the sheet bundle. Two
2b is a ratchet part formed on the reference rod. The pitch of the ratchet portion 22b is set according to the pitch of the bin b, and a of the ratchet portion 22b is a.
A knurl 22c is formed on the surface.

In this embodiment, since the inclination angle θ of the ratchet portion 22b is matched with the inclination angle of the bin, the rear end of the sheet bundle hits the sheet contact surface of the ratchet portion almost vertically.
The contact surface can reduce the loss of frictional force for supporting the sheet bundle. Therefore, the diameter of the knurl formed in the ratchet portion can be reduced accordingly.
Therefore, it is possible to improve the alignment of the rear end of the sheet when pushing up the sheet bundle, and at the same time, to eliminate the deviation α of the sheet bundle caused by the inclination of the bin as shown in FIG.

[0038]

As described above, according to the sheet post-processing apparatus of the present invention, the rear end of the sheet bundle can be reliably supported by the knurl portion when the sheet bundle is transferred by the sheet bundle transfer means. It is possible to perform a stable sheet bundle transfer without causing buckling, bending, scratching, etc. even for lower curl paper or thin paper such as thin paper.

Further, even when the sheet bundle is transferred by the other sheet transfer means after the above operation, the sheet contact portion is formed with a small sliding resistance in the sheet bundle transfer direction, so that the sheet bundle is moved. Scratches on the sheet at the contact area,
The sheet bundle transfer operation can be performed smoothly without causing damage and the like, and it is possible to provide a high quality and highly reliable apparatus.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main sectional view of a device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the sorter portion shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a top view of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottle unit shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a flow of a bundle transfer operation.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of a bundle transfer operation.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a flow of operations of bundle transfer.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a flow of operations of bundle transfer.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a flow of operations of bundle transfer.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a flow of bundle transfer of a second copy.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a flow of bundle transfer of a second copy.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a view showing the operation of the bundle transfer means of the present invention (first embodiment).

FIG. 14 is a view showing the operation of the bundle transfer means of the present invention (second embodiment).

FIG. 15 is a view showing a conventional bundle transfer.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing the occurrence of sheet misalignment in a conventional example.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. At least one bin for accommodating discharged sheets, a first sheet transfer means for transferring a sheet bundle on the bin in a first direction, and the first sheet transfer means. In a sheet post-processing apparatus provided with a second sheet transporting means for transporting a sheet in a second direction substantially orthogonal to the above, and a sliding resistance in the first direction by μ ₁ And the sliding resistance in the second direction is μ ₂ , the sheet contact portion of the second sheet transfer means is formed so that μ ₁ <μ _2. A sheet post-processing apparatus including. 2. A sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet bundle transfer means according to claim 1, wherein the sheet contact portion of the second sheet transfer means is formed into a knurled shape. 3. A sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet bundle transfer means according to claim 1, wherein the sheet contact portion of the second sheet transfer means is formed in a ratchet shape. 4. The sheet post-processing apparatus having a sheet bundle transfer means according to claim 3, wherein the ratchet-shaped pitch is set to be substantially the bin pitch. 5. An image forming apparatus comprising the sheet post-processing device according to claim 1.